Posted on 11/11/2012 12:18:55 PM PST by Badabing Badablonde
I confess. I'm horrid at tipping. I dread that moment when that impersonal folder is placed discreetly at my elbow, and I begin the task of checking the bill and scrutinizing the service. I came in for a meal and I still resent the fact that I can't pay for just my meal.
When I was a kid, tipping was different. I remember watching my dad pay the bill, then as we stood to go he would tuck a few bills under a saucer or a salt shaker. When I asked, he explained that our waitress did a good job, paid extra attention to us, made our meal pleasant, and he wanted her to know he appreciated it. That made an impression on me, because it told me that a job well done had its rewards.
Fast forward to today. We are expected to have our meal selections made in a matter of seconds. Hot plates arrive half way thru the salad, and the bill arrives with a convenient line for a diner to indicate the tip amount. Get us in, get the money, get the next party sat.
Because, you see, a tip today is an entitlement. We are expected to pay extra for the basic service. We are not asked if we appreciate the attention. That is assumed. We are grateful to just get service, and maybe if the service was really bad its acceptable to ditch the tip. Waiters assume we will make up for the deficit in their wages. Because, you know, it's just not fair that they don't make the salary that Joe the Stockbroker makes.
I have my share of tipping horror stories. Like the waiter who waited for me outside the ladies room and demanded to know why his tip was below 20%, forgetting that he got half our orders wrong, wrote nothing down, charged us regular price for happy hour drinks, and we had to hunt him down when we needed him. There was the waitress who believed that because I paid in cash she could help herself to my change.
Spare me the argument that its a poor paying tough job, and just agree with me that some endeavors are just a gamble. Do we sit down at the poker table and blame the other players for hand we are dealt? Do we make the dealer take their cards to give us a better hand? Or do we try to make the best of the hand we are dealt? Do we try to make it up with the next hand?
At least in life, we are not forced to fold. We can play as many hands as we can stand, stay in the game as long as we want.
Anyway, I had my lunch today, the waitress performed her job according to her job description, I made no unreasonable demands, and I quietly added 15% to my bill. But deep down I resent her entitlement attitude that I have to pay for her minimum wage choice.
Preparing for Freeper backlash.........
I like tipping. But then again, I only go places where the service is very good. If I go somewhere once and get bad service, I probably won’t come back.
The places I go, many of the wait staff know us by face or even by name. Tipping folks who work hard to give me and my family a pleasant meal is a pleasure.
Yes it’s a business expense , which means its not my money.
You make a great point. Anyone who wasn’t raised by wolves knows how the system works. Just because you’ve got a pet philosophical grudge against the system doesn’t mean you’re entitled to stiff the waiter. You’ve got a thousand other ways to express your contrarianism: write editorials, stamp your feet, or just don’t go out to restaurants. But don’t stiff the college kid who’s upholding his end of the bargain in expectation that you uphold yours.
I’ve waited tables and I know what hard work it is. To see so-called conservatives taking out their angst on waiters makes me want to barf. Pick on somebody who actually deserves it.
Perhaps you should eat out at better places. I get out plenty. Travel quite a lot.
I don’t know what planet you are on.
My personal favorite, Hardee's "little thickburger" ordered without cheese.
You also have some great cafeterias in Texas--Luby's. I loved going to Luby's.
But you're not going to be able to stiff wait staff at "nicer" places without encountering unpleasant resentment.
Badabing’s rambling rant, and her other comments, are all over the place. I’m not sure I know where she’s even coming from.
Having said that, your comments are right on. Being a waiter/waitress/bartender is the ultimate entrepreneurial experience. Your customer base is like your own business within a business. You are depending somewhat on your support staff to make you look good and help you earn tips. If they do a bang up job, you tip them some from your take. When crap goes sideways, your abilities to keep customers happy is tested
Yes, a helluva lot like running a small business, which really, it is.
Sucks, doesn’t it? Which means that if it weren’t for conservatives like me, reviewing and recommending approval or denial of state Medicaid program amendments or waivers, we’d be spent into oblivion. I use my travel expenses responsibly, I run the states thru the wringer on their proposals to basically open the bank to their beneficiaries. I send their proposals back for revisions when they don’t have the money to distribute room air to their people. This while staff around me is cursing me and singing “we are the world” and maligning me for not approving states to spend a billion dollars into deficit. Call me hardened but I’m tired of the sob stories. I just want people to earn the wages they get. If they need my money, they can get it from the United Way, but not from my bill.
It's obvious you have an inflated sense of self-importance, but in case you haven't noticed, we were "spent into oblivion," a long time ago.
"Call me hardened but I’m tired of the sob stories."
Then why are you posting yours here?
I’m government and I know the going per diem rates. You get enough to tip the waiter appropriately and still make out like a bandit. You’re pocketing the money you withhold from the waiter, yet you lecture us from a perspective of conservative principle?
Please pardon me while I laugh in your face.
Boring Sunday, needed Freeper entertainment.
Are you from the etiquette police? Do you have a badge?
Just go to places that don’t take tips.
I rarely go to restaurants that require a tip (3-5 times a year), however when I do, I tip generously for great service. I truly appreciate an attentive and friendly server, and I love to reward their hard work with a tip they will know was for their extra effort.
LOL! I don’t know how your per diem is calculated, but unless you eat pretzels and drink tap water three times a day, there is nothing to pocket. And how would u know this unless you have tried it yourself? I suspect this is more your scenario than mine.
Everybody knows the rules of the restaurant business...wait staff gets paid less than minimum wage and work for tips. Anybody who takes advantage of that to keep a few bucks in his/her pocket by stiffing them and then lays it off as principled behavior is an asshole.
Resting up for your paid federal holiday tomorrow? Many veterans like myself will be going to work in our private sector jobs so you and other bureaucrats can observe Veteran's Day by taking your 1/3 cut of our earnings.
Which begs the question, if you and other federal employees aren't working tomorrow, why are private sector employees being taxed for the work we actually do on federal holidays? Aren't we paying for services not rendered? Does that make you feel guilty, or does your opprobium only apply to wait staff?
Yes, I am amazed.
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